Macho Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Macho, matcha… what’s the difference when you’re in cookie combat with the only objective being: Get. The. Cookie. Into. My. Mouth.

Now.

Seriously, life or death situation. Who cares about a few letters?

These cookies are kind of like ninja turtles, but the human version. Or: the cookie human version. They’re lean, mean, and green. (And so very tasty, but that’s besides the point right now because I typically don’t eat turtles.)

And what is the ONLY thing more macho than a macho man? … Obviously a ninja. Because honestly, nothing is more badass than a ninja… except MAYBE a ninja matcha green tea shortbread cookie man.

Christmas came early for me this year, and yesterday I received the BEST, most amazing surprise in the mail. It was one of those “eat the entire box of fig newtons” days (true story). Sigh. I knew I had something waiting for me at the post office, but I was kind of assuming it would be a glorified post card or something.

No, no, no… no. I should hold my friends to a higher standard than that, because it was “ninjabread men”! Only the coolest cookie cutters ever created. I mean, even the logo is great: “they’re cut out for action!”

Ah. I air hug you sender of cookie cutters. Thank you for making my day.

On the way home, I pondered how I might first use these bad boys (literally). And, this is what I came up with:

(Adapted and veganized from: http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/10/matcha_shortbread_cookies.php)

Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies – What you need:

100 grams of margarine
50 grams of confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup applesauce
90 grams all purpose flour (approximately ¾ cup)
40 grams almond powder
¼ tsp grated sea salt
1 tablespoon matcha powder

Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies – What you do:

In a large bowl, beat together the margarine and confectioner’s sugar until light and creamy. Add the applesauce and continue to mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, almond powder, salt, and matcha powder together. Stir well to make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the margarine mixture and stir with a spatula until the mixture comes together to form a ball. Don’t mix the dough too much at this stage!

Once the mixture forms a ball, pack it together slightly then wrap it in plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out your cookie dough until it is around ½-1 cm thick (depending on how strong you want your ninjas to be).

You’re going to need a lot of flour, because the dough is really wet. When I make these again I will play around with the flour/almond/sugar ratios.

Cut out cookie dough shapes and place them on the baking sheet. They will spread out a bit, so make sure the cookies aren’t too close! (Or you may have a ninja fight on your hands!)